Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) caught Republican leadership off guard when he announced he would leave Congress next week.
The Colorado Republican had already announced his intention to retire after nine years in office, but Politico politics bureau chief Jonathan Martin told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” his departure came as a complete surprise to House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
“No, he was blindsided, as was Steve Scalise, the No. 2 in the House leadership,” Martin said. “Ken Buck has not been happy for a long time. It kind of reflects the sort of radicalization of somebody in Ken Buck, who came to some level of prominence running as a Tea Party candidate in 2010, which feels like the ice age for the U.S. Senate, a political outsider who gets to the House, has done 10 years in the House.”
So far, 23 GOP lawmakers – including several influential committee chairs – have either decided not to seek re-election or resigned early from a 118th Congress that has been wracked by dysfunction, power struggles and divisiveness, and Buck has been outspoken in his frustration with the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and other legislative priorities.
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